W.H. assistant chef faces furlough?

White House assistant chef Sam Kass is expected to be furloughed as a result of budget cuts enacted in March, he said during an interview with food reporters.

Kass also works with first lady Michelle Obama on her “Let’s Move!” initiative, although that program will not be affected by the cuts.

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Eddie Gehman Kohan, who writes about the White House and food for the Obama Foodorama blog, described Kass’s meeting on Tuesday with food reporters thusly:

President Obama and First Lady Obama’s Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition Policy and assistant chef, Sam Kass, said on Tuesday afternoon that he may be placed on furlough along with other White House staff due to sequester-related budget cuts. During a White House meeting with agriculture journalists, Kass discussed the subject, mentioning that his next stop was a “furlough meeting.”

“We’re being furloughed. Shin and I are getting cut,” Kass said, seeming to joke. He was naming Shin Inouye, the West Wing communications staffer charged with taking care of “specialty media,” who was monitoring the reporters’ meeting. But when asked to specifically confirm that he is indeed being furloughed, Kass backpedaled. “I don’t know,” Kass said.

“We have a budget meeting…in the briefing room is all I can say,” Inouye said by way of explanation, as he and Kass headed off to their date with destiny.